Colleen in NS Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 What a great idea for a thread - I love reading these stories, as we are on the edge of starting the high school years! Absolutely these two!! Creekland nailed it! My kids live 3000 miles away from us now, but we're still close. My daughter pretty much tells me anything and everything, and most of the time I love that! My kids also live only a couple of miles apart from one another and are still a part of each other's lives. I couldn't ask for a bigger gift than that they still like each other and value spending time together!! Flexibility was one of the key reasons we homeschooled. For us (& it differs in each family:D), not outsourcing too much gave my kids a nice chunk of free time in their lives. I read an essay by Laura Berquist when I first started homeschooling that really stuck with me. She spoke of the spiritual and personal rewards of down time in a high school student's schedule. So we made sure that our kids always had that margin of free time to fill in themselves (not screen time, though!!). The real benefits of homeschooling didn't come from the endless AP classes, etc, but from the ideas and hobbies they generated during that free time. [i could go on and on about this, but I've got to run to a friend's funeral.:001_huh: this is what I hate about getting older - now it's my generation. His widow has asked me to be the hospitality minister at church this morning. This is so very hard for me. Everything we do in homeschooling is minor compared to real life issues] How encouraging your story is to me, esp. the bolded parts!! It inspires me to keep on working for these values. And I am so sorry to hear about your friend. :grouphug: In the one year, three months, and sixteen days since… I have often thought… All of that time, we had. Not enough, no. Not enough. But, oh! So. Much. More. than we would have had had we chosen a more traditional path. :grouphug::grouphug: Flexibility to work around life as it happens without sacrificing grades- we were burned out of our house and in a hotel, 4 days later my sister died and were out of state for 9 days for travel, funeral, we lived in a hotel for a month when we got back from the fire, moved to a temp house after that, inventoried and sorted and worked on the re-build since, moved back to our house, etc.. If he had been in b & m school, there is NO way he would have been able to keep up with his school work and get decent grades. And, again, time to process, grieve, and be together through all of the joys, uncertainties and demands of life. And, not sure how to word this, but my kids have been true friends through a tough season. ... :grouphug::grouphug: for you, too. A year and a half ago, the kids and I drove three hours to the airport to pick up my oldest daughter, not realizing that that would be the last time we'd step foot in our home for a year and a half. While we were gone, my husband had a stroke in his sleep that was so massive, it took us to three rehab hospitals across the country. We never made it home again to even collect a book or item of clothing. My girls (the ones still left at home!) were able to come with me from state to state, supporting my husband and myself, and homeschool as they went. I'm so grateful we didn't have to worry about public school, how would they keep up with their credits, transferring from school to school. We could simply huddle together as a family through those desperate times, and be there for each other. And :grouphug: for you. Thanks, people, for sharing your stories here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 The benefits for our family include higher level academics than what is offered locally in the ps and private schools. Also, it allowed our sons to have employment throughout the year. It allowed them to take concurrent courses for college credit. It allowed my 2nd son to do a "study abroad" type thing in England for the last half of his spring semester of senior year. Because of his outstanding experience there, my other 2 sons will also do this. It allowed us, as a family, to take time off for vacations when dh was free (and the boys didn't have any outside classes). One of the most precious aspects of homeschooling high school, for me, is that I get to have frank adult discussions with them when they need to talk. We've had some great discussions about politics, morality, God, evolution/creation, girls :) , marriage, careers, money, friendships, etc. I wouldn't trade that time for anything. What great opportunities your sons had! Yes vacationing is so much easier! And the discussions, at any time of the day, are great! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 What a great idea for a thread - I love reading these stories, as we are on the edge of starting the high school years! How encouraging your story is to me, esp. the bolded parts!! It inspires me to keep on working for these values. And I am so sorry to hear about your friend. :grouphug: :grouphug::grouphug: :grouphug::grouphug: for you, too. And :grouphug: for you. Thanks, people, for sharing your stories here. You're going to love homeschooling during the high school years! Yes - thank you to all for sharing!!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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